Shloka 170
वासवी-शक्तेः प्रयोगः, घटोत्कच-वधोत्तर-शोकः, व्यासोपदेशश्च
The Vāsavī Spear’s Use, Post-Ghaṭotkaca Grief, and Vyāsa’s Counsel
प्रगाढठमञ्जोगतिभिनरराचैरभिताडिता: । निपेतुर्द्धिदा भूमौ सशृद्भा इव पर्वता:,शीघ्रतापूर्वक आगे बढ़नेवाले नाराचोंकी गहरी चोट खाकर बहुत-से हाथी शिखरयुक्त पर्वतोंके समान धराशायी हो गये
sañjaya uvāca | pragāḍha-tam añjogatibhir narācair abhitāḍitāḥ | nipetur dhidā bhūmau saśṛṅgā iva parvatāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Struck hard by narāca arrows that rushed forward with swift force, many elephants collapsed upon the earth, falling like mountains crowned with peaks.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of worldly power: even massive war-elephants, symbols of strength and prestige, can be brought down instantly by concentrated violence. It implicitly warns that reliance on brute force leads to suffering and sudden collapse rather than lasting security.
Sañjaya describes a battlefield moment in which rapidly flying narāca arrows strike elephants with heavy force, causing many of them to topple to the ground like peak-crowned mountains falling.